❓ Hon. Sally Talbot asks about the Children's Court Links program, a mental health initiative. The Minister provides details on assessment processes, suitability, reports made, and care plans developed since the program's inception.
AnsweredQoN 716Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
CHILDREN'S
COURT — LINKS PROGRAM
716. Hon SALLY TALBOT to the Minister for Mental Health:
I refer to page 37 of the Mental Health Commission annual
report, and to the Children's Court specialised mental health program
Links.
(1) Are all children appearing
before the Children's Court assessed by the Links team?
(2) If so, what form does the
assessment take?
(3) If no to (1), how are children selected for assessment?
(4) Since the program started on 8
April 2013 —
(a) how many
children have been assessed as suitable for inclusion in the Links program;
(b) how many
children have been assessed as not suitable for inclusion in the Links program;
(c) how many children have had
reports or assessments made to the court by the Links team; and
(d) how many
children and/or their families and carers have had personal support plans
developed by the Links team?
COURT — LINKS PROGRAM
716. Hon SALLY TALBOT to the Minister for Mental Health:
I refer to page 37 of the Mental Health Commission annual
report, and to the Children's Court specialised mental health program
Links.
(1) Are all children appearing
before the Children's Court assessed by the Links team?
(2) If so, what form does the
assessment take?
(3) If no to (1), how are children selected for assessment?
(4) Since the program started on 8
April 2013 —
(a) how many
children have been assessed as suitable for inclusion in the Links program;
(b) how many
children have been assessed as not suitable for inclusion in the Links program;
(c) how many children have had
reports or assessments made to the court by the Links team; and
(d) how many
children and/or their families and carers have had personal support plans
developed by the Links team?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice of the question.
I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the Links program.
This program was funded as part of a $6.7 million investment in mental health
court diversion programs by the government. In his recent address at the Rural
and Remote Mental Health Conference, the Chief Justice of Western Australia,
Hon Wayne Martin, AC, commented that the Children's Court mental health
team was a very significant initiative.
(1) No, not
all children appearing before the Children's Court are assessed by the
Links team—only a young person whose mental health has been raised as a
concern.
(2) Not applicable.
(3) Referral
information may come from any source, including family members, carers,
friends, lawyers or the young person themselves. The process will include an
interview with the client and, where possible, discussion with caregivers,
referrers and, where appropriate, agencies, schools and other services. This
will include an evaluation of psychiatric history presenting problems including
social and legal; current functioning; developmental milestones; psychosocial
issues, including housing, education and community support; drug and alcohol
use; family history of mental illness and family network; mental state
examination; risk assessment; social and emotional wellbeing; legal issues; physical
health; and abuse and trauma.
(4) From 8 April to 30 September 2013 —
(a) 20 young people have been found
to be suitable;
(b) 29 young
people were assessed as not suitable and three are currently pending. Examples
of reasons for unsuitability include the young person choosing not to
participate and the justice matter having been dealt with on the day;
(c) 47 reports have been made to the
courts; and
(d) 20 young people have care plans.
I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the Links program.
This program was funded as part of a $6.7 million investment in mental health
court diversion programs by the government. In his recent address at the Rural
and Remote Mental Health Conference, the Chief Justice of Western Australia,
Hon Wayne Martin, AC, commented that the Children's Court mental health
team was a very significant initiative.
(1) No, not
all children appearing before the Children's Court are assessed by the
Links team—only a young person whose mental health has been raised as a
concern.
(2) Not applicable.
(3) Referral
information may come from any source, including family members, carers,
friends, lawyers or the young person themselves. The process will include an
interview with the client and, where possible, discussion with caregivers,
referrers and, where appropriate, agencies, schools and other services. This
will include an evaluation of psychiatric history presenting problems including
social and legal; current functioning; developmental milestones; psychosocial
issues, including housing, education and community support; drug and alcohol
use; family history of mental illness and family network; mental state
examination; risk assessment; social and emotional wellbeing; legal issues; physical
health; and abuse and trauma.
(4) From 8 April to 30 September 2013 —
(a) 20 young people have been found
to be suitable;
(b) 29 young
people were assessed as not suitable and three are currently pending. Examples
of reasons for unsuitability include the young person choosing not to
participate and the justice matter having been dealt with on the day;
(c) 47 reports have been made to the
courts; and
(d) 20 young people have care plans.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.